


Smile and Song

by EternalElegy



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: NagiHiyo singing, Slice of Life, Summer Secret Santa 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:54:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26302249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EternalElegy/pseuds/EternalElegy
Summary: Nagisa and Hiyori were headed towards Hiyori's favourite cafe when they decided to make a short detour.
Kudos: 9





	Smile and Song

**Author's Note:**

> Written for @grapemayoi on Twitter for Summer Secret Santa 2020! I hope you enjoy this work!

Of course, Hiyori hadn’t bothered to get Ibara’s permission as he asked Nagisa to come with him to his favourite cafe. There was no way Nagisa was going to decline.

Being alone with Hiyori as they walked down the street brought back fond memories for Nagisa. He remembered holding hands with Hiyori as children, their arms swinging about in an attempt to release all the energy they had, because running around wasn’t an option. Now, they were much older and more mature, and holding hands was completely out of question considering they were extremely popular idols, but that didn’t mean that they couldn’t show their bonds at all. Just a smile and a glance was all it took. They were family, and there was nothing that could destroy the trust that they had in each other.

“This might be a commoner’s place, but it sure is a nice change from ES!” Hiyori noted as they crossed a road. “Taking a walk is not only healthy, but sometimes you get to see new places too. What fine weather!”   
“... Mmm.” Nagisa hummed and nodded in response.   
“Well, it’s not long until we get there!” Nagisa decided to take a look at his surroundings. The scenery was familiar; he had been driven along this road countless times for work, but something was different, considering they were not sitting in a car with tinted windows. 

Some heads had turned their way.    
“Oh look, Nagisa-kun! People recognise us!”   
“... Yes. It seems so.”   
“Of course they’ll recognise us, we’re the strongest idols in ES! Since we’ve gotten their attention, we should give a little bit of fanservice!”   
“... Ibara said not to do anything, though.”   
“Is he scared of a scandal? He’s worrying about nothing! He needs to loosen up a little, otherwise he’ll age way too quickly and get wrinkly and old and ugly while we retain our youth! All you need to do is give them a smile, like this!”

Hiyori demonstrated, sweeping the street with his eyes while using that smile that he was so well known for. It had all the radiance and the energy of the sun and it was impossible not to be attracted to it. Even though they had grown up together, Nagisa wasn’t completely immune to it, as he momentarily forgot what he was supposed to be doing. Hiyori gave him a small nudge and Nagisa pulled himself together, smiling as naturally as he could. He remembered his first few days with Hiyori, and how he had looked at himself in the mirror, attempting to smile the best he could. Something wasn’t right. Hiyori said that it looked weird, but he was willing to teach him all the same. A good, charming smile was super, super important. A smile communicated happiness. A smile could induce happiness in others. When Nagisa’s smile was finally good enough for Hiyori’s standards, there was that moment of awe, and then Hiyori grinned smugly and told Nagisa that he was greatly satisfied with his efforts. 

At that time, a smile was a mask for Hiyori to wear, a shield to protect himself, a weapon that he had perfected just to survive in the world. Now, that smile was no longer a front; it became genuine, nurturing the happiness of others like the sun nurtured life with its warm rays. Hiyori was content and happy with life, and there was no way he wasn’t going to display it to the world.

Nagisa found it interesting that there was such a variety of reactions. Some people smiled back. Some people waved. Some people took out their phones to take pictures.   
“... Hiyori-kun. Why are some of them holding their mouths and looking away? Was my smile… strange?” Nagisa turned to Hiyori, his smile disappearing.   
“No no, it’s nothing like that, Nagisa-kun! Your smile is amazing! Some people are just so dazzled by it that they can’t help but react like that!”   
“... Does that mean that they’re happy?”   
“That’s right! Everyone has different ways of expressing happiness. You’ve seen some fans do that too during our concerts, right?”   
“... I don’t know. I can only think about our performance when I’m on stage.”   
“Oh, that’s okay! Just know that it’s another way of a fan saying that they like you!”

Nagisa smiled again. This time, he could make out gasps amongst all the background noise of the city. 

“Nagisa-kun, don’t worry about having to smile at every single person, just do it naturally!”   
“... Naturally? How does one do that?”   
“You can just smile a bit and then continue on your way! We have a place to go to after all, and we can’t stand out here forever.”    
“... So, does that mean that we’re not smiling at everyone because we’re busy?”   
“Exactly! I think it’s important that we give our fans something, but you shouldn’t have to drain yourself just to give fanservice. It’s already a blessing that they’re able to see us in person in such a casual setting, since we almost never appear in public!”    
“... I see. Thank you for explaining it to me.”   
“Feel free to rely on me when it comes to these sorts of things! There’s many things I can teach you!”   
“... Okay.”

They rounded the corner, and Hiyori lit up even brighter upon seeing the sign of his favourite cafe, but beyond it…   
“... Hiyori-kun. I hear music.”   
“Yep yep, want to go check it out?”   
“... Yes. That voice has captured my attention. I would like to meet its owner.”   
“It reminds me of when I first heard Jun-kun sing! The quiche can wait, let’s go!”

Some distance away, a busker sang a familiar song, accompanying herself with the gentle strumming of an acoustic guitar. Nagisa had recognised it as a song sung to him as a lullaby when he still lived with the Godfather. He had heard numerous recordings of it. Even Subaru’s father sang it to him at his request, because he loved the song so much. He remembered every single performance. Every singer had their own way of injecting life into the song, from the tone of their voice to the slight differences in phrasing, to the way they gently pushed and pulled the tempo to create a seamlessly flowing melody that sounded right no matter who he listened to. This was no different. The girl may not have been a professional, but Nagisa could feel a connection to her, as if every word she sung was addressed directly to his soul.

A handful of people had gathered in front of her as she stood with her guitar case open in front of her. She was completely immersed in her performance, her eyes flicking between a general direction in front of her and her hands on the guitar, with no acknowledgement as to who walked past and who stayed to listen to her. Nagisa found this to be intriguing; he had sang and danced at every Eden concert towards a crowd that had come just to see him and the rest of his unit, but this girl was giving something intimate and invaluable, revealing herself to the rest of the world with a performance when she couldn’t even guarantee an audience. 

The final note of the song lingered in the air, against a background of running engines, chatter and boots on the concrete footpath. Nagisa didn’t realise he had been holding his breath until the singer relaxed her posture, signalling the end of her performance. He had to applaud. Hiyori applauded beside him. Her small audience applauded as well. Such a beautiful performance, and barely anyone had even acknowledged her existence. Nagisa thought of the thunderous applause he was met with after every live performance, and how little attention this girl received, even though she had put in all of her soul into this song, just like he did whenever he was on stage.

“... Hiyori-kun.”   
“What is it, Nagisa-kun?”   
“... I see that people are putting money into her guitar case. Is that their way of showing their appreciation?”   
“Yep yep!”   
“... I want to tell her something. Can I?”   
“Of course! I wanted to talk to her too, let’s go together!”

They walked up towards the girl. Hiyori noticed the slight bounce in Nagisa’s step, the way he moved just a little faster than he usually did. Nagisa never failed to display his excitement in some way as a child, and even as he grew up, that part of him stayed and it made Hiyori feel warm at how cute it was.   
“Thank you for listening to-” The singer cut herself off upon seeing the duo, and her face instantly turned a deep shade of pink. “T-thank you for listening to me, Ran-san and Tomoe-san!”    
“... Your singing was beautiful. Thank you.” Nagisa smiled as he reached into his wallet and placed some coins and small notes into the guitar case. Hiyori swore that he could see steam coming out of the girl’s ears.    
“Your performance was really good! What fine weather!”

Hiyori reached into his pocket to offer some spare change, but…   
“Oh no… Nagisa-kun, do you have any more cash?”   
“... No. Ibara said that it’s not good to carry too much cash.”    
“Aww… hmm…” Hiyori thought for a moment.   
“It’s okay, really!” The girl piped up with a big, powerful smile that reminded Nagisa of Hiyori’s own. “Just being able to talk to you two is more than enough for me!”    
“No no, I must treat you with some respect as a busker! It’s not fair if I can just talk while everyone else offers their hard-earned money to you.”    
“... Hiyori-kun, why don’t you pay with something else?”   
“What do you mean?”

“... Those who perform like this on the street don’t even know whether there will be someone who will listen and appreciate their performance. Even though they have worked hard for this one moment, there may be no one interested in their efforts.”   
“What are you trying to say?”   
“... I want to fulfil any request this girl may have. It’s the least we can do as idols.” 

“Wow, you’re so nice, Nagisa-kun! I like your idea!” Hiyori lit up like the sun he was, facing the poor busker who had probably already imploded. “So, what’s your name?”   
“A-ah… it’s…” She avoided eye contact. “It’s Haruka…”   
“Haruka-san! What would you like from us?”    
“Uh… I don’t know…” Haruka tried her best to look at them, but as soon as her gaze connected with Hiyori’s, she immediately looked down at her guitar.   
“... Let’s sing together, Haruka-san.” 

Hiyori and Haruka looked at Nagisa. Nagisa looked back at Hiyori, and that gave Hiyori all the information he needed. That spark, that flame that ignited within Nagisa whenever he wanted to do something. Hiyori knew that look very well. Even as Nagisa grew up and learned more about the world, that fire in his eyes never changed.    
“... We can sing the song that you just sang. It is a song very dear to me, and you sang it wonderfully. I want to share a performance of it with you.”   
“Nagisa-kun, we’re supposed to let her choose!” Hiyori nudged Nagisa gently with an elbow.   
“N-no, it’s perfectly okay! I’d love to sing with you guys!” Haruka spoke up, barely able to contain her nerves.   
“... Then it’s decided. Let’s stand around the microphone.”

They got into position, with Nagisa and Hiyori on the sides. Haruka took a deep breath, and played out the introduction.

Nagisa’s mind teleported back to the past, when he was spending his first few nights in an unfamiliar, outside world after he had been discovered. He and Hiyori were in a very spacious bedroom with a very spacious bed, with ample room to roll and play around. There were times when he was lonely. He might have made a new friend, but he missed the Godfather; an irreplaceable figure. The void that had opened up after his death had barely begun to be filled all those years later.

That feeling of emptiness slowly faded away as he spent more and more time with Hiyori. Hiyori was a great friend. They had a lot of fun together. They sang and danced and played. Hiyori taught Nagisa to read. Hiyori taught Nagisa how to talk properly, despite the numerous frustrating moments that occurred due to Nagisa’s occasional inability to follow instructions properly. Hiyori taught Nagisa all about the outside world and suddenly it didn’t seem like such a bad place anymore. The Godfather had taught Nagisa all about the sins of humanity, the evils that lurked outside the mansion that Nagisa had lived in before, but Hiyori was a bright sun that pushed away all the darkness that dared to come near him. 

Whenever Nagisa remembered those times with the Godfather, he’d sing that song. Hiyori was eager to learn it because he knew that it could calm Nagisa down whenever he grew anxious. They sang it together many times. Nagisa started learning harmonies to accompany Hiyori. Their voices came together in the most perfect way possible. Nagisa could feel that powerful, unbreakable bond whenever they sang together, and every single time there was something that he needed to overcome, he thought of Hiyori and all of his light and radiance, and then everything was okay because he knew that the sun would be on his side.

It had been a while since he sang this song, but his voice and soul remembered everything, and he was sure that Hiyori felt the same. 

Quite the crowd had gathered by the time they finished the performance. From the way Hiyori looked at him, Nagisa knew that Hiyori liked what they had just done.    
“T-thank you so much f-for singing with me!” Haruka’s trembling fingers gripped onto her instrument.   
“No, thank you for letting us sing with you! What fine weather!” Hiyori replied.   
“... I’m sure that there will be no heights you cannot overcome as long as you continue to work hard, Haruka-san. Please continue to share your voice with the world.” Nagisa spoke.   
“Yes, I-I will!” Haruka almost squeaked.   
“Ah, Nagisa-kun and I have to go now, but we might see each other again someday!”   
“... Perhaps. Thank you for singing with us. We will depart now.” 

Nagisa and Hiyori waved to Haruka as they headed towards the cafe.   
“... Hiyori-kun.”   
“What is it, Nagisa-kun?” 

The hot chocolate was nice, but Nagisa couldn’t stop thinking about the events that had just unfolded.

“... Can we sing that song again sometime?”   
“Of course!


End file.
